Day 1: Lake Merritt

When we began this field trip, I was worried that I would be taking pictures of the same things as last year. However, I was surprised and delighted to find many new patterns that I hadn’t discovered before!

Burton’s Bride: At first I was going to delete this photo of a bird (I’m not sure what type, but I’m sure Mr. Miller will fill me in) in Lake Merritt. However, Ashley pointed out what a great optical illusion that this image is! After she noted that it looks like a Tim Burton-esque bride with long white hair, I couldn’t see the bird in the picture anymore. How about you?

Fractal Stalk: This stalk shooting out from the top of a succulent in the Botanical Gardens is an excellent representation of a self-similar fractal. Each of the branches appears to be the same as the whole thing! I think that the angle I took the photo at really shows off this structure.

Simplicity: I picked this photo to share because I think it shows that a very simple pattern can also be very beautiful. Each of the stems are almost identical and ALMOST symmetrical. Notice, however, that the leaves are slightly offset form each other on either side of the stem. The blue background and splash of sunlight really bring out the beauty in this pattern.

Infinite Fronds: I took this photo by standing under a “Blue Palm” and taking a picture of the fronds backlit by the sun. Palm fronds have a really great radial pattern, and the arrangement of the fronds and their shadows in this image make me imagine fronds going into infinity (and perhaps beyond).